Travelogue Part 1

This is a travelogue of our trip to DC, Niagara falls and NY last weekend. It was my first trip to the eastern part of the US. Ananth, Murali and I planned a 5-day vacation to during labor day weekend. The photo here shows the amount of driving directions I had obtained :) Find a lot of photos at http://sripathi.fotopic.net.

It started with a flight to Baltimore airport on 31st Aug. The super-shuttle ride from the airport to our hotel was a memorable one. The driver insisted on driving in two lanes all the time, and often grossly over the speed limit! Just when we were wondering if the road rules are different in Baltimore, a cop promptly pulled us over.

The next day began with a taxi driver trying to con us, immediately making us feel very homely :) But rest of the day went very smoothly in Washington DC. The new security restrictions in the city make it far less enjoyable experience, however. We were only allowed outside the distant fencing of the White House, and we missed the ticket to go inside the Capitol building. To go any closer to the White House, we need to obtain a letter/pass from our local senator six months (yes, six months) before our visit! But I am not complaining too much about not going into White House because. Well, it was obviously white in color, but it really did not look too impressive. We then saw the Washington Monument. In fact it is difficult not to see it if you are in DC, it is a tower 555 feet tall! We later saw the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, WWII memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. Here is a picture of the Capitol building.


The next day started with a long drive to Niagara falls. Driving directions given by mapquest (Yes, I used a Microsoft website) ran us through many green, beautiful country roads in Pennsylvania and NewYork states. Niagara falls had a huge waterfall as expected ;-) But the first thing that caught our eye was the board "Sardar Dhaba"! You know you are near Canada (or Jalandhar) when you see that board. We really enjoyed our stay till late in the night at Niagara falls. Toronto offers a beatiful skyline on the other side of the falls.
More later.